Everglades City is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States, of which it was once the county seat. It is part of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples Combined Statistical Area. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center for Everglades National Park is located in Everglades City. As of the 2020 US census, the population was 352, down from 400 in the 2010 US census.
History
thumb|The Museum of the Everglades in Everglades City
The area around Chokoloskee Bay, including the site of Everglades City, was occupied for thousands of years by Native Americans of the Glades culture, who were absorbed by the Calusa shortly before the arrival of Europeans in the New World.
19th century
By the time Spanish Florida was transferred from Spain to the United States in 1821 as Florida Territory, the area was uninhabited. A legend says that Seminoles planted potatoes along what is now the Barron River during the Seminole Wars, in the vicinity of the present Everglades City.
American settlement began after the Civil War, when Union sympathizers who had farmed on Cape Sable to supply Key West during the war moved up the west coast of the peninsula. The first permanent settler was William Smith Allen, who arrived on the banks of Potato Creek (later renamed the Allen River) in 1873. After Allen retired to Key West in 1889, George W. Storter, Jr. became the principal landowner in the area. Storter gained fame for his sugar cane crops. He opened a trading post in 1892, and gained a post office, called "Everglade", in 1895. Storter also began entertaining northern tourists who came to Everglade by yacht in the winter to hunt and fish. His house eventually grew into the Rod and Gun Club, visited by United States Presidents and other notables.
The first school in Everglade was organized in 1893. The school moved into a new building in 1895, but the building was destroyed by a tornado later in the year.
20th century
The next school building was washed away by the 1910 hurricane. A Methodist circuit rider began visiting Everglade in 1888, and another Methodist minister began a four-year residency the next year. After that, Everglade was occasionally visited by itinerant preachers of various denominations. The Episcopal Church established a mission at Immokalee which eventually moved to Everglade when revitalized in the 1930s by Harriet Bedell.
In 1922, Barron Collier began buying large areas of land in what was then southern Lee County. In 1923, the Florida legislature created Collier County from Lee County, and they chose the county seat to be in Everglade. During that same year, it only consisted of a dozen families, but some northern sportsmen had established winter homes there. Also in 1923, the community was officially incorporated as the "Town of Everglades" (adding the "s").
The Tamiami Trail, which crossed Collier's domain, passed five miles north of Everglades City. While construction was proceeding on the Trail (it was completed in 1929), Collier pushed construction of what became State Road 29 from Everglades City to Immokalee, providing the town with its first land connection to the rest of the state. In 1928, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad began service to Everglades City, which became the southernmost point the Coast Line ever reached. Service was provided by an extension of the Coast Line's Haines City Branch from Immokalee to Deep Lake, where it connected to Collier's Deep Lake Railroad, an earlier railroad that transported agricultural freight. The railroad was removed in 1957.
In 1953, the "Town of Everglades" became the "City of Everglades". Everglades was hard hit, and two years later, Florida's legislature moved the county seat to East Naples, Florida. In 1965, the state legislature changed the city's name to the "City of Everglades City".
Geography
Everglades City is at the mouth of the Barron River, on Chokoloskee Bay. Chokoloskee Bay is approximately long and wide, and runs southeast to northwest along the mainland of Collier County. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (21.01%) is water.
Climate
Everglades City has a tropical climate, similar to the climate found in much of the Caribbean. It is part of the only region in the 48 contiguous states that falls under that category. More specifically, it generally has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification: Aw), bordering a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification: Am).
Demographics
2010 and 2020 census
{| class="wikitable"
|+Everglades City racial composition<br> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br>
!Race
!Pop 2010
!Pop 2020
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|White (NH)
|336
|283
|84.00%
|80.40%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|3
|0
|0.75%
|0.00%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)
|9
|9
|2.25%
|2.56%
|-
|Asian (NH)
|0
|0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|-
|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)
|0
|0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|-
|Some other race (NH)
|0
|1
|0.00%
|0.28%
|-
|Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)
|7
|6
|1.75%
|1.70%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|45
|53
|11.25%
|15.06%
|-
|Total
|400
|352
|100.00%
|100.00%
|-
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 352 people, 103 households, and 59 families residing in the city.
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 400 people, 106 households, and 80 families residing in the city.
2000 census
As of the census
Education
The city's public schools are operated by the District School Board of Collier County.
- eCollier Virtual Academy School (K-12)
- Everglades City School (VPK-12)
- Optima Classical Academy School (K-12)
Library
Collier County Public Library (CCPL) is the public library system that serves Collier County, and the one branch located within Everglades City is the Everglades City Branch Library.
References
Further reading
- Carter, Luther J. (1974). The Florida Experience: Land and Water Policy in a Growth State. The Johns Hopkins University Press. .
- Leifermann, Henry. (1988). "Billiards and Redfish In the Everglades". The New York Times. March 13, 1988. Accessed July 5, 2013.
- Tebeau, Charlton W. (1968) Man in the Everglades. University of Miami Press.
- Tebeau, Charlton W. (1955). The Story of the Chokoloskee Bay Country. University of Miami Press.
External links
- Official Website for the City of Everglades City
- Community website
- Florida Backroads Travel